Two AMU Students Shot at Within 48 hours, No Report of Assailants Yet

Abdul Alim Jafri

February 27, 2019

Image Courtesy: NDTV

A student of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) was allegedly shot at and critically wounded by three unknown assailants at ADM compound behind Jamia Urdu area on Monday, February 25. The victim, Mohammad Gulzar, was returning to his hostel after a spoken English class when the assailants on separate bikes opened fire at him and punched him. He has been admitted to the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, where his condition was said to be out of danger.

Gulzar, who hails from Bihar, is a second-year student of Sociology and is residing in Sir Syed Hall (South). This is the second such incident in the city in the past 48 hours where two AMU students have been targeted. Kaif, a former student of AMU was allegedly shot dead at the same spot on Saturday.

Speaking to Newsclick over the incident, students' union secretary Huzaifa Amir Rashadi, said, "This is the second incident in the last two days. The two incidents within such a short time shows that the district administration has failed to maintain the law and order. I don’t know who is targeting the students of the university. Gulzar comes from Bihar and is a hardworking student. He was very dedicated to learn English speaking. When he was returning from the spoken English classes on Monday, a few assailants first punched him and then shot at him. He sustained a bullet injury on his right cheek. The administration has assured us to nab the accused. Police is investigating the CCTV footage."

Aligarh's Senior Superintendent of Police Akash Kulhary told Newsclick, "We are working on the case. The bullet bruised his neck touching his ear, he is alright now. We have taken out the CCTV footage and it seems there were three people whose faces were uncovered. At first, a heated argument took place between them, then assistants punched him and shot at him. The matter is being investigated and the accused will be nabbed soon."

When questioned about how could a similar incident take place within 48 hours in an area where previously a student had been shot dead, the SSP said, “No, both the cases are entirely different but yes the scene of crime is close. However, the modus operandi is entirely different. In the previous incident, the bikers came on a white Apache bike and shot at him. They also had their faces covered. While in this case, they came with their face uncovered on Passion Pro. Initially, they argued with him and punched him and only after then they shot at him.”